AKRON, Ohio — Editor's note: the video in the player above is from a story published on November 25, 2020.
Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan has released a statement on the current gathering ordinance in the city, as well as the state of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The current city gathering ordinance is set to expire on Wednesday, December 16, and Horrigan says that, at this time, they will not seek to renew the ordinance.
"The data was, and remains, very clear: community spread of COVID-19 is happening at home. The private gathering ordinance was an attempt to disrupt complacency, counteract misinformation about where risk is greatest, and urgently increase COVID protocols within citizens’ homes to slow the spread of this deadly virus," Mayor Horrigan wrote in a statement. "I am confident that this ordinance captured people’s attention and resulted in voluntary compliance by residents across our City. I have heard of many families that made the decision to cancel or scale back large gatherings based on this law, and that was exactly what needed to occur."
The mayor says that the ordinance has, in fact, worked against the intended goal of the city to lessen the spread of COVID-19.
"In consultation with our public health officials, it is clear that this impeded effectiveness, as Akron daily welcomes workers, patients, and visitors from across the region. Without appropriate scale, public health measures such as ours will not be effective in slowing community spread," Horrigan says.
The statement comes as Summit County, which houses Akron, recently went into level 4 'purple,' the highest level on the state's Coronavirus alert system.
"Our priority remains to help our residents navigate the loss, fear, and uncertainty of this pandemic. We are here to continue to serve you, no matter what. We remain within the darkest days of this pandemic, and it will be months before we begin to emerge from it," Horrigan writes. "The local conditions have only worsened since early November, when Akron’s three hospital systems came together to ask us to take this action to help them save lives."
Mayor Horrigan did go on to clarify that they have not given up on controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, but that at this time, they are heavily relying on citizens sharing the responsibility of not spreading the virus.
"Lives can still be saved, but only if we take our shared responsibility to one another seriously," Horrigan said.